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Raw Feeding Cats

Cats, unlike dogs, are obligate carnivores. Because of this, cats undoubtedly thrive best on a meat, bone, and offal only diet.

Unlike dogs, they cannot handle small amounts of vegetables and starches and these are completely unnecessary.

Cats do eat a similar diet to dogs, however there are some important differences you must be aware of.

We very highly suggest cats DO NOT get starved, as unlike dogs, cats need to eat on a daily basis to stay healthy and will go downhill very quickly. This does mean that, if your cat is picky or difficult to switch to raw, they may need some form of wet food or pouches fed. In this instance, the risks of not eating at all are higher than eating both a wet food and raw. We recommend using a very high quality food, if you need to.

If not and your cat takes to raw like a duck to water then great!

How To Change To Raw

Cats, unlike dogs, do not get introduced to raw slowly over several weeks. Because of a cats dietary need for Taurine (they cannot produce Taurine themselves), they need variety in their diet from the start.

What is Taurine?It is an amino acid, found in animal based proteins. Cats have a limited ability to manufacture taurine; therefore taurine is classified as an essential nutrient in the cat. Fortunately for the cat, taurine is readily available in animal proteins... like a raw food diet. The average sized cat needs approx 100mg of Taurine per day.

We recommend feeding Taurine rich foods on a regular basis, preferably daily. The most common meat people feed that are high in Taurine are hearts. Chicken hearts are perfect 'cat sized' snacks. Other meats high in Taurine are generally red meats like beef and lamb, and liver.

How Much To Feed?

Adult cats are fed around 2-3% of their body weight. But this is just a guide, some may need slightly more or less, depending on the individual.

Kittens are fed small, regular meals during the day, and as they get older, phase it into 2 meals a day.

What To Feed?

Cats need the typical 80% meat (of which some must be heart or beef for the Taurine), 10% bone, 5% liver and 5% other offal. Some argue that cats generally need less than 10% bone, so start off low and adjust if needed. Remember that white, dry or crumbling poo means too much bone, and that sloppy, soft poo means too little.Start with a mince meat that includes bone, like chicken mince, with a couple chicken hearts mixed in (or some chopped up lamb/ox heart). Be sure to check the bone content of the mince and lower it with more meat if it's too high. As long as their poop is ok, you can keep introducing the meats. But remember, do not feed just chicken meat for 2 whole weeks like you do dogs... because cats need Taurine.

If your cat is very picky and doesn't eat a great variety, you could always add a good quality Taurine supplement to ensure they get what they need.

You could also try a pre-made raw cat food, if you're worried about getting the balance right.